The Value of a Soul

I sat in a room full of strangers. Over a hundred people I have never known before. An odd sensation came over me. Who are they? What are they? I could not connect. I felt even if they all died, it would make no difference to me.

One phenomenon of the (post-)modern age is that we are trained to see people as tools. If you are a store owner, when someone walks in, that person looks like a walking dollar sign, a potential consumer. If you are a manager, you look at an employee for what he/she can do in the job. If a politician, a person may simply be a number--the vote he/she can cast for you. We see people not for their intrinsic value, but for their extrinsic value.

Much of this utilitarian view of others te our perspective because we view ourselves the same way. We think our worth is in our utilitarian worth: how much money we make, how valuable we are to the company, etc.

But God says our worth is infinite because He made us in His image. We are more precious than the most ancient artifact--even if broken, infinitely valuable. God cares for each person; that's why each of us is of an infinite value. Yes, even that drunk sleeping on the side of the street, or that person in the pit of sin. Christ died for each soul, you and me, and them, and that's why each person is infinitely valuable.

May we look at each person we meet as a person of infinite value each day instead of a tool. May we look at each person as one that God cares for and Christ died for. May we care for them, as Christ would, and share Christ with them.